


Cullavellan Week Day #2: Family

by catlavellan



Series: Cullavellan Week 2016 [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Circle of Magi, Denerim, Elven Alienages, F/M, Family Member Death, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Kinloch Hold, Multiple Wardens, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 09:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7971937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catlavellan/pseuds/catlavellan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set pre-relationship, Cullen finds Catelyn in the Skyhold garden and learns something he didn’t know about her life before the Inquisition</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cullavellan Week Day #2: Family

It was often these days that Cullen found himself in the garden. As much as he told himself it was just to get a breath of fresh air, to see the flowers, to distract himself from the nightmares, he knew it was for her. It wasn’t every day that he stumbled upon Catelyn in the small courtyard, but when he did, he could always count on a game of chess, or perhaps a small lesson from her on certain plants, coupled with stories from her Dalish life, or even sometimes tidbits from her time in Denerim. The days he spent with Cat in the garden were the days when he fell asleep to swirling images of her sun-dappled cheeks, dark eyelashes fluttering gently against a faint blush, her laugh an echo in his ears. Today he strolled down the steps into the garden, eyes oh-so-casually searching for her mop of dark curls, barely noticing how deserted the lush area was. When his greaves finally hit the soft grass, he spotted her. Cat was in the grass by the flowers, knees splayed to either side of her, bottom planted on the ground, head hung in front of her. Her loose ebony ringlets hung down around her golden face, eyes shut tight, though Cullen knew the sweet blue-violet of her irises by heart.  
“Inquisitor?” The gentle intone of his voice startled her eyes open, and when she turned to him, he noticed the redness around her large eyes, and cheeks that still shone with the tracks of long-shed tears. Amber eyes met amethyst ones and held for a heartbeat that seemed to go on for ages, before Cullen’s sheer presence shocked Catelyn back into complete consciousness.  
“Commander,” she sniffed, hastily scrubbing at her face to bring her visage back into the composed mask of the Herald of Andraste, “I didn’t see you there. Is there something you wished to discuss?” Overwhelmed by how easily she put away her vulnerability, and so desperately wanting to take her in his arms and ease whatever pain she felt, Cullen protested,  
“No–no. Are you…alright?” He took a tentative step forward, one gloved hand reaching out in a beseeching manner, begging her to tell him, to let down her walls for once. She simply dropped her head once more, turning away from him and bringing her eyes back to the ground in front of her. Cullen let his arm fall, “I can go if you’d prefer.” Hearing no answer after a beat, he turned to walk away, but felt a soft hand on his wrist, stopping him.  
“Please stay.” He looked down to see her eyes filling once more with tears, and the softness in her eyes had him dropping to his knees beside her before he had even processed what he was doing, taking her small hand into his. “It’s–“ she paused and sighed, weighing her words. “Today marks ten years since my sister died.”  
Her words hung between them for a heavy moment, filled with all the things Cullen wanted to say but left unsaid. He tenderly squeezed her hand while she took a steadying breath in. “When my twin sister Nella and I were fourteen, we snuck out of the alienage in the middle of the night. We were so young and we just wanted to get out of the walls. We lost track of time, so around dawn we were hurrying to get back to the alienage before the guards could find us, and we must have gone too fast. The broken wall that we snuck out of started crumbling around us. It was right over me–I would’ve been crushed if it weren’t for Nella. She was so scared for me that it released her magic abilities, and she froze the entire wall. Every falling stone was completely encased in ice, and we barely had time to be surprised before the Templars descended on us. They pushed me aside and dragged her away, I remember her screaming my name before my head hit the ground and I was knocked unconscious. I woke up cold and alone two hours later. The ice she made hadn’t even melted.” Her voice broke at the last word, and it took all of Cullen’s will power not to reach out and stroke the hair back from her face. Instead, he threaded his fingers through hers, and it seemed to give her the strength to continue. “A few months into the blight, a Templar came to Denerim, to tell the Chantry Mothers there about some tragedy that happened at Kinloch Hold.” Cullen’s throat tightened at the mention of it, and he couldn’t tell whose hands were clammier. “The tower was overrun with Abominations. The Templars just locked her in there with them…” She was fighting through a steady stream of tears, and Cullen had barely noticed how close they had gotten. He was still holding her hand, but her other one was clenched tightly in the ruff of his cloak. She hung her head just by Cullen’s shoulder, and a few dark tendrils of her hair were brushing his neck. Only slightly unsure of himself, Cullen placed a large, warm hand against the side of her knee, softly running his thumb back and forth to try and provide her some comfort. She sucked in a shuddering breath. “The Heroes of Ferelden found her when they cleared out the tower. We knew Tamsin Tabris–we grew up with her. Tamsin recognized her…she said they found her dead in the apprentice quarters. She was…I lost half of myself that day.” At the quiet, shaky timbre of her voice, Cullen could no longer resist. He pulled her into his arms, her head resting in the crook of his neck, arms wrapped around his broad shoulders. Rubbing soothing circles on her upper back, she continued; “When the Templar told me…I was so heartbroken, it felt like a hole opened inside of me, and all of my magic came pouring out. I killed him. Maybe ‘destroyed’ is a better word for it…he was nothing but a pile of ash and cinders when I finally came to my senses. That’s why I left Denerim and the Alienage–Catrion and Anorella, the two humans who looked after us, helped me get out. They didn’t want the same fate for me.” Cullen could feel the wetness from her tears where she rested her head against his neck. Trying to steady both her and himself, Cullen pulled back from her slightly, as being so close in contact with her was already muddling his thoughts.  
“She was young, but she still looked just like you. Her hair was much lighter than yours–it was blonde, I think. And her eyes, they were blue. Not like yours, lighter as well if I remember, but she had your smile.” Catelyn had finally lifted her head to look at him in awe. She had forgotten that he was a Templar at the Ferelden Circle when Nella was brought in. Of course he had met her. Her eyes watered again, but this time, the tears felt less like lances through her. Cullen was giving her the one thing she always wanted: more of Nella. Ever so gently, one of Cullen’s now-bare hands came up to cup her cheek. “You are so beautiful,” he took a long pause, as if taking her in, “and so strong. You are the strongest person I have ever met, Inquisitor…Catelyn. I am so lucky to know you, to get to spend every day with you, and more than that, I am proud of what I have seen you achieve, just as I know Nella would be.” Cat reached up to rest her hand on top of Cullen’s, before pulling him into a crushing hug.  
“Thank you.” She whispered, as he placed a tender kiss at her temple.  
In the deserted Skyhold garden, the Inquisitor and the Commander sat, intertwined among the lush flowers, in the scarlet glow of the setting sun.

Anyone who tried to enter the courtyard that day had been promptly shooed away by Josephine and Leliana, who had conveniently overlooked the moment their Commander strolled into the garden.


End file.
